


Human Shield

by Rangergirl3



Series: Whumptober 2019 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Injury, Gen, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Prompt: Human Shield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 14:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20893952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: Lance doesn't want to hurt his friend...but he might have to.





	Human Shield

_It's just another battle,_ Hunk tells himself, firing his laser cannon at yet another oncoming wave of Galra drones. _It's fine. This is normal now._

Lance is at his side, firing his sniper rifle repeatedly. Behind them, Pidge is hunched down near the sparking control console.

"Almost -"

The far doors of the corridor slam shut, sealing them off the enemies' reinforcements, and Pidge lets out a satisfied cackle as she leans over her keypad and begins hacking into the fleet's attack coordinates. 

"This won't take long," she says over her shoulder. "A minute, maybe two."

Keith's just a few paces away, keeping the closest attackers at bay with his swords. 

* * *

"Mullet, get back here! I can't take them all down at once!"

Keith half-turns at Lance's shout.

"Just - shoot the ones - that are - trying to - get past me!"

Lance frowns, and his reply is immediate, even as he takes down two of the enemy drones with one shot.

"THAT'S **_ALL_** OF THEM, KEITH!"

Lance can't help but grin when he sees Keith roll his eyes in exaggerated frustration.

This kind of 'bickering' is what they do now, but it's hardly ever meant as anything more than friend-to-friend banter.

_Sure, they still get on each other's nerves from time to time, but that happens a lot less than it used to._

* * *

Keith rolls his eyes at Lance's quip, but to be fair, the Blue Paladin does have a point.

Then there's a harsh, searing pain in the back of his leg, directly above the knee, and he almost falls over. He ends up leaning against a wall.

Clawed hands grab hold of him, yank him off his feet and drag him further down the hall, further away from his friends. 

Someone's shouting his name.

_Pidge?_

He looks to one side, and it's only then that he sees that a Galra soldier - a real Galra, not a drone - is the person dragging him backwards, down the hall, towards the only remaining exit.

* * *

Lance breathes in, then out.

He can't panic.

If he does, he won't be able to do what he needs to do.

The soldier who grabbed Keith did so from behind, and is intentionally keeping the Red Paladin off balance as he begins to retreat, using Keith as a human shield to escape.

_Once they round the corner, the solider might just leave Keith on the floor and bolt for the escape pods._

But Lance knows he can't take that risk.

_It's entirely likely that the soldier would take Keith with him as a prisoner, or even kill the Red Paladin and leave his body on the floor for the other Paladins to find._

Lance breathes out, and pulls the trigger.

He doesn't miss.

The shot sears through Keith's shoulder and into the Galra soldier's chest. Mid-step, the enemy soldier falls, and Keith falls with him.

Once Keith is on the ground, Hunk blasts the rest of the drones into pieces. 

"Clear!" he shouts, and Pidge is the first one at Keith's side.

Lance and Hunk keep their weapons up and ready to fire at the first enemy in sight.

* * *

When he hits the ground, Keith's breath leaves his lungs in a rush.

Pain pounds through him.

His left leg. 

His right shoulder.

He can't move.

Sound and light erupts around him, but he can't move.

Then someone's at his side, asking him if he can...

Keith doesn't know what they want.

_No, he can't move. Not on his own._

He does his best to keep his breathing steady, even, but the injuries pulse and ache with every one of his heartbeats.

He's never been shot by a friend before.

It hurts.

It _really_ hurts.

"Is he okay?"

Lance's voice doesn't tremble, much, but the fear in it is evident to everyone in the hallway.

"It's - it's not a bad injury," Pidge calls back over her shoulder. "Not as long as we get him into a pod - like, now."

Keith decides he'll let the rest of the team handle that.

He's done more than enough for one day.


End file.
